Fence-post stub.



, A. J. BATES.

FENCE POST STUB.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.26.1912.

Patented J an. 6, 1914.

L@ Sp.

. ti rr s @las ALBERT J. BATES, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FENCE-Posa s'r'UB.

Specification of Letters'Patent.

Patented Jan. 6, 1914.

:Application led March 26, 1912. Serial No. 686,362.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT J. BATES, a

citizen of the United-States, residing at= Chicago, in the countyl of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new vand useful Improvements' in Fence-Post Stubs, as set forth i'n 'the'following specification. p

My inventionrelates generally to means for securing fence posts of various sorts in" the ground, and aims to provide a fence post stub which may be quickly and easily driven into the earth, and 'which will secure the post. attached thereto more efficiently than has heretofore been possible with devices of this sort.

-A principal object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described a maximum strength with a minimuml amount of material.

A still further object is to provide a fence post stub which may Ibe quickly'and securely driveninto4 the ground,l which may be quickly and easily removed, and which will 'so engage thel earth that it will successfully resist the tendency frequently possessed by such devices to work loose by enlarging the opening made by the stub when it is driven into the ground.

Additional objects and advantages ofmy invention will be apparent ai; it is better understood from the follow ng description which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, illust-rates one preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings i-Figure 1 is a front elevation of a stub made in pursuance of my invention connected to the bottom of a fence post; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken onthe line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing means of securing the bottom of a post to the stub; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the top of the stub withthe post removed; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the stub taken-on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to that inl Fig. 2 with the lower part of the stub broken away showing my reinforcing plate. For the purpose of illustration I have shown a stub 10, embodying various feaftures of myv invention, secured to the botltom of a' fence post 11 of the form described `1n S. Letters Patent 1,006,047 for truss structures, and 1,005,925 for method of making truss structures, both granted me on lOctober 17th, 1911, although obviousl any desired Aform of post may be employe with equal efficiency. 'I he stub 10 is composed of a vsingle metallic sheet shaped to form a tube, preferably flattenedupon two opposite sides 12. The sides 13 of this tube between I the said flattened portions are rounded, and are preferably substantially semi-circular in cross section, althoughit is understood that and thev tube made circular or elliptical in cross section without departing from the 'spirit and scope of my invention. The

cut away from its bottom 14 upwardly throughout the greater part of the length of the tube on each side of a median line to shape the bottom opening of the finished tube in a plane inclined to the longitudinal axis of the said tube as is shown in Fig. 2'. The side edges 16 and 17 of the sheet are overlapped above the topmost point 15 of the bottom opening of the tube, and are permanently secured in said position bymeans yof the rivet 18, although other fastening means may be provided and, if thought adwhere, as for exampleat the rear or along a side of the stub, or the tube may be drawn and the bottom cutl away to give an opening of desired shape.

To secure lthe bottom of the postI to the stub I provide apair of alined apertures 19 adjacent the top of the stub, and `on op osite sides, one of these apertures preferably extending through the overlapped edges of the sheet, in which bolts or screws may be inserted to secure the post in place. y

While I have shown the post as composed of which is secured to the stub b a bolt extending through one of the saiA apertures, it will be manifest that should a post having a solid base be used a single bolt may be positioned through the said basel and through both apertures to securely fasten the stub to the post. The apertures are preferably elongated asis best shown in Fig. 3 to permit adjustment of the bolts to bring the posts to vertical position.

the said flattened port-ions may be omitted of the two bottom members 20 and 21, each.

metallic sheet constituting the said tube is A visable, the edges may be overlapped else-4 lt is obvious that where a post is fastened .as hereinbefore described to a stub lmade in pursuance of my invention the two are secured together in such manner that the forces exerted laterally against the top of the post are distributed about the entire pe- Nriphery of the stub. Moreover, it will be While the means l khave shown for con- .necting the side edges of the metallic sheet together and stub to the base of the post are of ample strength under ordinary conditions, l provide for use in connection with fences designed to sustain severe strains the reinforcing plates 22 disposed on opposite sides of the stub and riveted thereto as at 23. These plates are provided with apertures 24C similar to the apertures 19 of the stub and alining therewith to receive the bolts 25 which secure the stub to the base of the post. It will be manifest, moreover, that various minor changes in the form of the stub, the means of connecting the side edgesof the sheet together and the means of connecting the said stubto the base of the post may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, the form hereinbefore disclosed being merely one preferred embodiment thereof.

l claim z- A 1. A fence post stub, comprising a sheet Losasea of suitable metallic .material shaped into a cylinder having substantially at side walls and curved end walls, defining respectively the minor and major transverse axes of the stub, the longitudinal edges of said sheet being overlapped and secured together along a plane embracing the major transverse axis of the stub, one end of the stub being disposed in a plane obliquely intersecting the longitudinal axis of the stub so that the shortest and longest longitudinal dimensions of the stub lie on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis and' in the planeof the major transverse laxis, the joined edges of the sheet being positioned along the -shortest longitudinal dimension of the stub. p

2. The combination of a fence post stub, comprising a sheet of metallic material shaped -into a cylinder having transverse axes of various lengths, the lower end of said cylinder being tapered obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the said cylinder, so that'the longest and shortest longitudinal dimensions of the stub lie in the plane of the major transverse axis of the cylinder, the

upper end of said cylinder being provided at opposite sides in the plane of the major.

transverse axis with longitudinalljg7 elongated slots, a fence post constructed to engage the `opposite faces of said stub adjacent to said slots, and bolts engaged with f said post and slots to secure the post to the stub, said slots permitting adjustmentof the post relatively to the stub in the plane of the major transverse axis `of the stub.

- ALBERT lJ. BTES. Witnesses:

WM. BELT, M. A. Kimura. l 

